For what it’s worth, the media doesn’t always come out with the right picks. The media correctly forecast Florida’s championships in 1994, 1995 and 2008 and LSU’s in 2007, but otherwise erred in its preseason prognostication each year since the SEC went to divisional play in 1992. On 11 of 18 occasions, the team picked to win the league didn’t even reach the championship game.

SEC predictions

(Predicted order of finish in preseason media poll, with first-place votes in parentheses).

East

1. Florida (153) 1,030
2. Georgia (15) 791
3. South Carolina (8) 790
4. Kentucky 462
5. Tennessee 450
6. Vanderbilt (1) 194

West

1. Alabama (157) 1,034
2. Arkansas (6) 726
3. Auburn (10) 691
4. LSU (1) 653
5. Mississippi State 320
6. Ole Miss (3) 293

Votes to win SEC Championship Game: Alabama 143, Florida 17, Auburn 7, Arkansas 3, Georgia 2, Ole Miss 2, Kentucky 1, LSU 1, South Carolina 1.

At first, I thought “Oh great! We’re going to get the USC treatment.” But after further investigation it seems like the worst thing that could happen to Florida is that we could be forced to forfeit the Sugar Bowl win over Cincinnati. USC got in big time trouble because it was proven that coaches/athletics depermant staff knew about what was going on. No one at Florida (Urban Meyer and Jeremy Foley) appear to have known about Pouncey accepting the money before the Sugar Bowl.

It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if it’s confirmed that Pouncey took $100,000 from an agent before the game. I believe it happens all the time in college football. You have to wonder how these kids drive brand new Escalades and wear huge diamond stud earrings while they’re in college. No one I knew in college had those things!

It will sting a little if Florida has to give up their Sugar Bowl victory, but I doubt too many people would care. It’ll be some negative publicity for a week or so, and then we’ll move on when football season starts.

Florida was clearly the best team in the country, and it would take a win over #11 Alabama in the SEC Championship Game if the Gators were going to get a rematch against FSU in the title game. Well, the Gators did just that with a 45-30 win in Atlanta.

Not everyone wanted a rematch between Florida and FSU, but they were the two best teams in the country and were already intense rivals. Playing on a neutral field would help even things out. Led by Danny Wuerffel, Fred Taylor and Ike Hilliard the Florida Gators put up 52 points on offense compared to FSU’s 20 bringing home the Gators first National Championship in their history.

Here are two highlight videos, one for the SECCG and one for the National Championship.

Here are the Gators rankings according to each magazine.

Athlon: 1. Alabama; 2. Ohio State; 3. Southern California; 4. Boise State; 5. Oklahoma; 6. Florida; 7. Nebraska; 8. Texas; 9. Oregon; 10. Virginia Tech.

Lindy’s: 1. Alabama; 2. Boise State; 3. Ohio State; 4. Texas; 5. Florida; 6. Wisconsin; 7. Texas Christian; 8. Virginia Tech; 9. Oklahoma; 10. Iowa.

The Sporting News: 1. Alabama; 2. Ohio State; 3. Boise State; 4. Miami, Fla.; 5. Florida; 6. Texas Christian; 7. Nebraska; 8. Wisconsin; 9. Texas; 10. Oklahoma.

Phil Steele: 1. Oklahoma; 2. Ohio State; 3. Alabama; 4. Texas Christian; 5. Nebraska; 6. Boise State; 7. Florida; 8. Southern California; 9. Miami, Fla.; 10. Oregon.

So you can see we are in the No. 5-7 range. The Alabama Crimson Tide are rightfully No. 1 in most polls… coming off a BCS Championship. The Gators get to play Alabama during the regular season this year, so we will have our shot at revenge and upsetting the favorite to win it all.

What do you think of the Top 10 rankings? Are the Gators about where you’d expect them? Are they too high? Too low? Post a comment and let me know your thoughts.

So we’re trying to figure out if he is good enough to start as a true Freshman…

Here’s what Scout.com had to say about him:

Beastly insider is also a very strong student. Finishes with powerful dunks in traffic. Needs to develop a singular, go to move. Love him as a shot blocker. Offense trails defense but on defensive and rebounding end, he has few peers in class.

Patric Young was also selected to the USA Basketball Men’s U-18 National Team, a squad comprised of 12 of the nation’s top players 18 and under. Young will join the USA squad in its quest for the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in San Antonio, Texas from June 26-30.

Here’s a little more on him.

Dunk off the backboard:

Working out:

1. Jordan Reed – TE/QB
Jordan Reed was a quarterback in high school but has since been converted to TE during his time at UF. Reed is a big guy at 6′3″, 240 lbs — very similar to Tim Tebow. With Aaron Hernandez leaving for the NFL, Reed will compete for the starting job and could see plenty of action.

2. Jelani Jenkins – LB
The Gators are pretty thin at linebacker – we lost Brandon Spikes, Ryan Stamper and Dustin Doe. Competition will be fierce for the starting LB spots and you have to think Jelani Jenkins will have a good shot at one of them. He’s 6′0″, 200 lbs and dressed for all 14 games in 2009. If he doesn’t start, he shold still see plenty of action vs. Miami (OH), USF, and ASU.

3. Andre Debose – WR
Nagging injuries kept Andre Debose out of action in the 2009 season. He is a five star guy and one of the top WRs coming out of high school. The Gators have high hopes for Debose – who could be like a Percy Harvin / Brandon James combo. He’s 5′11″, 183 lbs and lightning fast. The Gators have been lacking at WR lately, so expect Debose to see a lot of balls come his way.

4. Kedric Johnson – DE
Defensive end is another position that the Gators are a little weak at – we lost Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham to the NFL. Someone will need to step up on the other side of Justin Trattou. Kedric Johnson, who is 6′3″, 252 lbs, could be the guy. He dressed for seven games in 2009, including the Sugar Bowl, but did not see any action.

5. Jon Halapio – OL
For the most part the Gators offensive line will be set – they only lost one guy (Maurkice Pouncy). But I wanted to throw an offensive lineman out there that might push some of the backups and get some playing time against the weaker opponents. Halapio is 6′3″, 305 lbs and was referred to “an immovable object on the line” by the St. Petersburg Times.

Are there any redshirt freshman that you think will push for a starting job or serious playing time? Post a comment and let me know.

Game Notes from GaztorZone.com
- Florida State posted its first win over Florida at the NCAA College World Series after suffering three defeats.
- The Gators dropped four of five meetings to the Seminoles this season, with each contest held in a different city.
- FSU has ended UF’s season twice in the past three years (2008 NCAA Tallahassee Regional; 2010 NCAA College World Series).
- It was just the third time this season that the Gators lost consecutive games (March 26 & 27 at Ole Miss; May 22 & May 26 at South Carolina and versus LSU in the SEC Tournament, respectively).
- Freshman Hudson Randall’s six-game winning streak spanning his last 10 starts came to an end. His last defeat was on April 4 against Vanderbilt.
- Freshman Brian Johnson made his second relief appearance of the year, both against Florida State.

I just want to congratulate the Gator baseball team on a great season – this is their first CWS trip since 2005. They are a young team with a lot of talent. Don’t be surprised if we see them again in 2011.

Also to all you Nole fans — Florida State may have beating Florida in baseball (and lately they’ve been beating us in basketball too), but we still own them in football – what is it now… 6 in a row?

There was a bright spot from the UCLA game though. Center fielder Matt den Dekker, chased Brett Krill’s deep fly in the top of the fourth for the defensive play of the day. Den Dekker was looking over his right shoulder, running directly at the wall, as the ball dropped over his head and into his right glove as he slid on his knees on the warning track. Some people are calling it the best play ever in CWS history.

Watch the video here.

“It’s the best catch I’ve ever seen in person,” Kugler (the CWS play by play analyst) said. “Major League Baseball, college baseball… best catch I’ve ever seen. I didn’t think he was going to get the ball, first off. Not only did he get the ball, he slides down and makes the catch. I still can’t believe it.”

As I mentioned above, Florida now has to play FSU in an elimination game this afternoon at 4:30. If they win this game they’ll get either a rematch with UCLA or they’ll play TCU.

There is double elimination in Bracket Play and it’s a best of 3 series when you reach the National Championship. The Gators start the bracket off against UCLA. On paper, the Bruins appear to have the better team – they have a lower team ERA (2.97) and a higher team batting average than the Gators. It’s going to be a tough game. The Gators don’t need to win it to stay alive, but a win will definitely give them an easier road.

For complete game coverage you can tune into ESPN or check out the NCAA Bracket online.

This is the first offense for Frankie Hammond Jr. – who the Gators were expecting to have a break out year in 2010. It’s not clear whether or not he will be kicked off the team, but I think a 1-2 game suspension is more likely. Urban Meyer did not kick Carlos Dunlap off the team for his DUI charge before the SECCG in December 2009.

There is no excuse for what Frankie Hammond Jr. did. He is clearly a stupid human being… driving under the influence is stupid anywhere, but to be going 45 mph on campus when there are University police officers EVERYWHERE is just really stupid.

What do you think Urban Meyer should do with Hammond Jr.?